


In Another Universe

by 3x3



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, i did not expect to write this one at all, references to my earlier fics tho? bc i'm annoying like that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 13:05:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17919335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3x3/pseuds/3x3
Summary: It's a gradual process.They meet, they age, they live.It's as simple as that.





	In Another Universe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [injeong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/injeong/gifts).



> this is just... yeah i found parts of this in an old file and decided to put it out that's all

_Maybe in another universe, we could be together._

* * *

 The first time Tooru saw him, it was nothing special. There were no fireworks in the sky nor sparks in the air. There was no orchestra blasting in his ears, nor pleasant buzzing dancing on his skin. None of that over-the-top whatnot. There _was_ , however, a furry white puppy licking at a melting popsicle on the mooring road while a little girl screamed her head off, her father trying his best to cheer his daughter up.

And they just brushed by at the entrance of the convenience store by the roadside. Tooru was out to buy instant noodles, and he specifically remembered seeing Stranger-Futakuchi shuffling past, a packet of hair ties clamped between his fingers. He remembered briefly wondering if they were for a girlfriend or a sister.

That was why he remembered at all.

So yeah, not very significant.

In fact, it was only when he actually thought back on it in the future that he realized that was their first meeting.

“No it wasn’t” Futakuchi would frown.

“It was.”

“It wasn’t. I don’t even remember any of that.”

“Then how come _I do_.” Tooru would counter, and Futakuchi would roll his eyes, a skill he quite excelled at, as Tooru had come to learn.

“Who even knows. You and your weird brain.”

 

They didn’t officially meet until an year later: on a train, when Tooru, being the disastrous dumbass he was, fell asleep on Stranger-Futakuchi’s shoulder.

Seriously! What kind of idiot _does_ that? Tooru, apparently. But then again, Stranger-Futakuchi didn’t attempt to push him off or snap his neck, so Tooru considered it as only a three on his Social Failure Scale (based on his personal experience) from one to ten, with one being saying _you too_ to the waiter who tells you to enjoy your food and ten, well let's just say Tooru doesn't talk about ten. Ever.

It was a little awkward when he eventually regained conscious though. He was still groggy when he managed to slur out a quick _sorry_ and scurry off the train before the doors snapped off at his stop.

Imagine the horror of seeing him again the next day. _And falling asleep on him again._

Turned out that they shared the same morning route.

Still, though, two days in a row was a little too much. Just being in the same car two days in a row was incredible enough.

So of course Tooru treated it as a challenge from the Universe. He went out of his way to get on a different car the next morning. _That’ll teach the Universe for dropping attractive guys on Tooru, then proceeding to embarrassing him the fuck out._

And he was there.

Then Tooru decided that it would be a war.

Just to prove this dumb point, he reset his alarm so he would catch an earlier train than his usual one.

Guess who Tooru saw when he got onto the train?

He decided that it was enough, and accepted that the Universe was out to get him, and he had no choice but to accept it, because hell, what power did he have to deny it?

And so Tooru said _fuck it_ , and charged up to introduce himself. If he was going to do it, he might as well go all out.

He was pleasantly surprised when he actually got a name instead of a weirded out look or a restraining order.

 _Futakuchi Kenji_.

Futakuchi Kenji was his name, and Tooru thought that maybe Futakuchi didn’t remember the previous incidents after all.

(He did. He confirmed it to Tooru years later.)

* * *

 

“Isn’t it kind of sad that the only reason we actually met was because I was trying to give the Universe a nice ole’ middle finger? But you just _had_ to go and ruin my plan to sabotage my own chances by actually engaging in conversation with me.”

“It’s your own fault for talking to me in the first place you dipshit!”

* * *

 

Then they became acquaintances. And somehow friends when the Universe shoved them in the same ramen store, the one near Tooru’s workplace, and apparently right next to Futakuchi’s. Because they’re actually only a station apart. That’s when they exchanged numbers and LINE accounts, so shit, they’ve actually got some sort of actual connection now.

 

So it was natural that they meet out sometimes to grab food together, right? They _were_ pretty much already ingrained in each others’ daily routes anyway. Some time along the way one of them asked the other out. Or maybe they did it at the same time. Maybe neither? Who could tell? They decided to give it a shot together, despite quarreling at every turn they’d come across.

 

One thing led to another, and before he knew it, Tooru was buying a present for their third anniversary.

Wow. _Third anniversary_.

“Ah, can you wrap that up for me?” he asked the clerk at the counter.

The clerk gave him a funny look. “You want me to wrap up… a sour gummy jumbo pack.”

Tooru nodded his confirm. “It’s a gift.” he explained. “It’s anniversary date night tonight.”

“Right. Because sour gummy jumbo packs are truly the most romantic gifts ever.”

“Look, I can’t be _sure,_ but I have a feeling that your boss doesn’t pay you to be judgmental towards your customers.” Tooru crossed his arms. “Are you going to wrap it or not?”

The clerk shrugged. “Okay. Would you like anything else, sir?”

“I’m good.” Tooru smiled cheerfully. “I would like to use this discount coupon.”

 

Life did not always need to be filled with twists and turns and grand adventures. For some, a stable and routinely life was enough.

* * *

 “Do you believe in multiuniverses?”

His voice is so soft, he barely hears it himself. It’s a surprise when Kenji actually responds.

“Multi-what?”

Tooru makes an effort to make his voice louder and clearer.

“Multiple universes.” He nudges Kenji in the shoulder, and sneakily uses the chance to snuggle up closer. “You know. Like how there are endless versions of us all across the alternate realities.”

Kenji hums thoughtfully. “Why?”

“You think we could be having this conversation in every universe?”

Kenji snorts. “Dude. You _just_ said that there are endless versions of us. There’s got to be versions of us who do not talk about alternate realities. Hell, there’s got to be versions of us that don’t even know each other. Versions of us that are rivals. Versions of us that are enemies. Versions of us in a fight to the death, even.”

He scoffs. “If we were in a fight to the death, I’d totally win.”

“And that would only be because I _let_ you win.”

Tooru frowns. “It’s a fight to the death, Niro- _chan_. Why would anyone let someone else win?”

Kenji shrugs and buries his head in Tooru’s neck. “Maybe I want you to win. Maybe I want you to bear the guilt forever and never be free from me. Who’s the real winner now?”

Tooru laughs, and Kenji gives a half-hearted protest at his shaking shoulders. “I’m glad we’re not in that universe, then.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

The night is peaceful, and the sky in unusually clear that evening. The moon shone pale and pristine, and several stars dotted along the skyline. The normally gas-polluted air looks clear after the rain earlier that afternoon.

“Do you think out there somewhere, there’s a version of us having the same talk?” Tooru asks again.

“They’d be jealous of us. We have an apartment and a dog. And neither of us are dead or badly injured.”

“We fight a lot?” Tooru tries to offer, as if trying to cheer up that other pair that presumably don’t have a dog.

“Don’t kid yourself. We’d fight in _any_ universe. That’s the only thing we have in common with all the other realities.”

“Even the ones where we don’t meet?” Tooru asks, amused.

Kenji grunts. “I’m sure we’ll manage.”

“Do you think there’s a version of us out there that wishes they were in another universe?”

Kenji lifts his head, and there’s a slight grin sitting on his lips. “Ooh, star-crossed lovers AU? That’s awfully cliched.”

“Countless possibilities, remember?”

“Right. Meeting in the dead of night. Sneaking around in the shadows. Those kinds of things. And you, being the dramatic shithead you are, would say something dumb like _Maybe in another universe, we could be together._ ”

“And you’d hit me across the head.”

“Damn right I would.” Kenji raises his hand to hit Tooru across the head. “Serves you right, for having no faith in us.”

“Wow, that barely hurt. You’re in a good mood today.”

“I figured that other-universe me would’ve gotten the point through.” Kenji eyes him sideways. “Or would you like-”

“No, thank you.”

 

_Maybe in another universe, we could be together._

 

For once, this is that universe.

* * *

 “Can we get a kid?”

“In some other universe, we already have.”

“So is that a yes?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“...Maybe.”

 

The world is alive, and they breathe in.

**Author's Note:**

> uhh yeah this was uncharacteristically sweet for me to write  
> but like in my old file i have this note that said the reason i wrote this one at all was because i read What If It's Us and that book made me s o f t  
> anyway it's a good book if anyone's interested


End file.
